Main menu

Pages

Monday, November 10, 2008

Spicy Crockpot Sweet Potatoes Recipe

Lots of people like sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner, and making them in the crockpot can help with oven congestion on the big day. These spicy crockpot sweet potatoes have the same seasoning as Spicy Sweet Potato Fries, the recipe that turned me into a sweet potato fan last year. I'm adding this recipe to the collection of Thanksgiving Recipes, and this is a sweet potato recipe that anyone can enjoy, even if they're dieting or restricting sugar for health reasons. I suggest doubling or tripling the spice mixture, because you'll want to be making this recipe or Spicy Sweet Potato Fries over and over once you've tried them.

Start by peeling 3 pounds of orange sweet potatoes and cutting them into pieces about 1 inch square. By the way, these are not yams, even though that's probably what your grocery store is calling them! And if you don't believe me, Food Blogga has thoroughly researched the question of Sweet Potatoes Vs. Yams. (I actually got into an argument with a produce guy about this once, and I really could have used Susan to back me up on it.)

Put sweet potatoes into a Ziploc bag and toss with 2 T olive oil and 2 tsp. seasoning mix. (I know you're going to be tempted to use more than 2 tsp. of the seasoning mix, but trust me on this. I tried it two different ways and less is definitely more.)

Put sweet potatoes into a crockpot that's been sprayed with non-stick spray and cook about 3 hours on high. That's it! (By the way, this is a mini-crockpot where I was making a test batch, which is why the sweet potato pieces look rather large in this photo.)

Spicy Crockpot Sweet Potatoes
(Makes about 6 servings, Recipe created by Kalyn using this spice mix for sweet potatoes from Epicurious.com.)

Spray inside of Crockpot slow cooker with non-stick spray or olive oil. (I used a 3.5 quart crock pot for this recipe.) Put sweet potatoes in crockpot and cook on high, stirring a couple of times so they don't stick or get too browned on the bottom.

Sweet potatoes are done when they're completely softened and fragrant, about 3 hours. Mash slightly if desired, and season to taste with fresh ground black pepper and sea salt. Serve hot.

Make Ahead Tips: Sweet potatoes can be cut and mixed with olive oil and seasoning earlier in the day. Cooked sweet potatoes could be kept in the crockpot on low or warm for a few hours if needed.

Posts may include links to my affiliate account at Amazon.com, and this blog earns a few cents on the dollar if readers purchase the items I recommend, so thanks for supporting my blog when you shop at Amazon!

I'm a big fan of using the crockpot on Thanksgiving - one year I bought two bright red crockpots to heat and serve and give me more oven space for an overly large turkey. Great idea to prep sweet potatoes in the crock pot.

Kalyn this sounds soo good! I'm hosting a Thanksgiving party for my coworkers this Sunday and one of my charges is sweet potatoes. I'm now debating between making these and a sweet potato mash with sage and caramelized onions that I picked up from Food Blogga.

So I use my crockpot occasionaly to cook meat. I'm skeptical about the fact that you don't add liquid. You have me wanting to plug the crock pot in but I only have one sweet potato. I'll do it tomorrow! They look great and the spice mix sounds great.

A friend called today to tell me that she's been commanded to bring sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping to a Thanksgiving dinner, because the host's son requested it. When I found out that the son is 25 years old, I laughed -- but honestly, I'd rather have my sweet potatoes done like yours, savory and not so sweet.

Dana, you could definitely cook sweet potatoes in the crockpot with any spices you like the flavor of combined with the sweet potatoes, but this combination is really great. If you have some of these, I'd use the ones you have (especially fennel and coriander.) Spike isn't similar to the flavor of this at all and I haven't tried it on sweet potatoes.

You might try googling "sweet potato fries" and see what other kinds of seasonings people use on them that you have.

I made these today for my cooking class to sample. I didn't think I would care for them that much, but I like the idea of a "sweet" potato alternative. WOW! They are delicious! I wanted to sit down and eat the whole bowl, but I'll save them for the tasting tonight. Outstanding!

THANK YOU about sweet potatoes vs yams. i too have gotten into "arguments" regarding this. i even recall reading something that said it's against USDA (or maybe FDA?) regulations to call sweet potatoes yams.

sounds wonderful. I have an old crockpot that I never use; guess I will have to dig it out to try this on T-day. One question...since I have no aleppo pepper, how much cayenne do you recommend... half? more? unsure about this, and it could make a big difference. Thanks.

Hey Kalyn, love-love-loving your website, thank you so much for sharing these great recipes. Question: Do you think you could use butternut squash with this recipe? I can buy that pre-cut at my grocery store (shhhh cheaters Thanksgiving). :)

Marcia, I can't really say for sure because I haven't cooked butternut squash in a CrockPot like this and this particular spice mix was made specifically for sweet potatoes. But I would guess that it would work. There are also a lot of great recipes for Roasted Butternut squash in the Thanksgiving Recipes if you want a tested recipe for Butternut Squash that I can guarantee will be easy and tasty.

Thanks for joining the conversation! I love hearing from readers and even though I can't always reply to every comment, I will always answer specific questions on a recipe as soon as possible. Sometimes I'm answering by iPhone, so my replies may be short!

Comments don't appear on the blog until they're approved by me, so no need to try again if you don't see it when you post the comment! Please make your signature a link to your site if you're a blogger, but other links posted within the body of the comment will never be published.

Food Blogger Love!

Copyright Notice

All Photos and Original Text (C) Copyright: 2005-2015, By Kalyn's Kitchen® LLC. I grant permission for photos and recipe links to be copied to social media and other sites, but not recipe text. All Other Rights Reserved. (Other bloggers may post their adapted version of any recipe found here, with their own photos and recipe text, but please link back to the original inspiring recipe on this site.)

Kalyn's Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.